The New CSOL – Good News for some 457 Visa Holders

As part of the Employer Nominated Scheme and the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme review process [...]

The Inclusion of Family Members after Lodgement

The new visa subclasses allow for family members to be included whilst the application is still underway. Previously, this arrangement was not possible. The visa had to be granted before the applicant would be offered the option of including members of their family unit with their visa. Not only was the option inconveniencing, it was [...]

Prolonged Life of English Results

The life of English results, such as IELTS and OET, are now valid for 3 years from 1 July 2012. This applies to all visa subclasses, not just the new General Skilled Subclasses. This relieves the pressure felt by applicants previously when the life of the IELTS and OET was only 2 year rule.

Australian Study and Qualifications

Under SkillSelect, international students who finished their studies more than 6 months ago can apply for skilled visas. Under previous arrangements they had to apply for a waiver of the work experience requirement. Furthermore, studies undertaken in Australia need not be directly related to the nominated occupation as points may be attained for qualifications which [...]

Options for Lodging Skilled Migration Visa Applications

Unlike previous lodgement procedures, the new skilled visa subclasses can only be lodged online with no options for paper applications.

Important Information Regarding Bridging Visas and EOI

Unlike a visa application, an Expression of Interest is not considered to be visa application unless an applicant has been invited to make an application and has gone ahead to make a valid application. Consequently, making an Expression of Interest will not give the outcome of a bridging visa. If you are onshore (mainly international [...]

Occupation Ceilings

The occupation ceiling has been introduced to preclude the skilled migration program from being overrun by a constricted range of occupations. The way the ceiling would work is once the number of occupations is reached for a particular unit group within each year, no further invitations for skilled migration from that unit group will be [...]

Points

The pass mark to be eligible for the EOI – SkillSelect (Subclasses 189, 190 and 489) under the new points test as of 1 July 2012 is 60. The pass mark for present General Skilled Migration (GSM) visas which are still open until 31 December 2012 will remain at 65. This category would be for [...]

Market Salary

The Temporary Skilled Migration Income Threshold (TSMIT) was adjusted by 4.2% from $49,330 to $51,400 on 1 July 2012. The TSMIT is indexed annually according to Australian Bureau of Statistics figures to ensure that not only are skilled employees attracted to the workforce but also that fluctuations in salaries in the Australian market are felt [...]

No Need for Unnecessary Travel

The onshore migration program has been expanded to include new permanent employer-sponsored visas. These previously consisted of both onshore and offshore visas. The new program has collapsed the offshore and onshore visas to two new visa classes without any distinction between onshore and offshore. The same now applies for people who apply for skilled migration [...]

Professional or Career Breaks Now Counting Towards Skilled Migration

Under the new skilled migration program, people who have had breaks in their occupations can still apply without having to demonstrate that they have been active in a skilled job for one year out of the last two years. Such rules implicitly meant that certain subsets of the community such as people who took a [...]

Major VISA Changes

On July 2012, the Permanent Skilled Migration under Employer Sponsorship went through many changes [...]

New website online

The new AustraliaMigrate website was launched today.

Government Changes Student Visa Assessment Levels

From 24th March 2012, students from 29 countries around the world will have their Australian visa assessment levels relaxed. Immigration minister Chris Bowen made the announcement on February 15 in response to a report from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC). “Lowering the minimum evidentiary requirement for the grant of a student visa for [...]

Seasons Greetings and Best Wishes for the Coming Year

We wish all our clients and potential clients Seasons Greetings and Best Wishes for the Coming Year Our team at AustraliaMigrate are highly motivated, experts in immigration matters and highly capable in handling the most complex of applications.  It is of extreme importance to us that when we take on an application, we are successful. [...]

Skill select

Another important reform initiative to streamline skilled migration will be the introduction of SkillSelect from 1 July 2012. SkillSelect is a new skilled migrant selection register which has as its objective to capitalise on the point test system and will ensure the selection of the “best and brightest” skilled migrants from a pool of prospective migrants. [...]